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Franconian Heights (Frankenhöhe) | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Peak | Hornberg |
Elevation | 554 m above NN |
Dimensions | |
Area | 653.3 km2 (252.2 sq mi) |
Geography | |
State | Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg |
Range coordinates | 49°22′57″N10°24′42″E / 49.3825°N 10.4117°E Coordinates: 49°22′57″N10°24′42″E / 49.3825°N 10.4117°E |
Parent range | Franconian Keuper-Lias Land/Keuper Uplands |
Geology | |
Type of rock | Keuper |
The Franconian Heights [1] [2] (German : Frankenhöhe) are a hill ridge, up to 554 m above sea level (NN) , in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in South Germany.
The Franconian Heights lie in the west of Franconia on either side of the border between Bavaria in the east (with the districts of Neustadt a.d.Aisch-Bad Windsheim and Ansbach) and Baden-Württemberg in the west (Schwäbisch Hall and a small area of the Ostalbkreis). The larger part lies in Bavaria; the markedly smaller southwestern element is in Baden-Württemberg. It includes the southern part of the so-called Crailsheim Hardt (Crailsheimer Hardt), which extends in an arc around the town of Crailsheim from the ramp of the A 6 northeast of Satteldorf in the north as far as Jagst near Stimpfach in the south, where it transitions into the Virngrund. It also includes the little basin of the upper Zwergwörnitz to the southeast, near Kreßberg.
The Franconian Heights, whose plateau has a hill country character in places, lie south of the somewhat lower hills of the Steigerwald, east of the Hohenlohe Plain and northeast of the Ellwangen Hills, and not quite half way on a line from Nuremberg to Stuttgart, east of Rothenburg.
Geologically, the Franconian Heights belong to the Keuper Uplands, which run through both the Franconian Keuper-Lias Land and through the adjacent Swabian Keuper-Lias Land to the southwest, and is also surrounded by lias country. Its northern continuation is the Steigerwald, up to 499 m high, which transitions into the Haßberge (up to 512 m) on the far side of the River Main. Its southern continuation, the Swabian-Franconian Forest, runs from the southern boundary of the Heights, mainly westwards, and is a little higher, climbing to 586 m.
On its western side, the Franconian Heights end in a steep scarp (also called the Trauf), and in the east, descends to the plains. The dominant rock type is (keuper-)sandstone; the soils are relatively sandy. [3] Old quarries, such as those in Obergailnau near Wettringen bear witness to the former importance of this rock for house construction in the region.
The Franconian Heights Nature Park covers most of the region, but not its southern part. In addition, it extends westwards near Rothenburg and as far as the Sulzach north of Feuchtwangen, well beyond the ridge itself. [4]
The towns and villages of the region include:
The Franconian Heights are crossed by the A 6 and A 7 motorways, which meet in the valley of the Wörnitz at the Feuchtwangen/Crailsheim intersection. The ramp on the A 6 after the Crailsheim exit which is still on the Hohenlohe Plain up to the western Trauf or edge of the Heights, clearly shows the morphological border. A rest stop on the A 6 about 10 km east of the motorway intersection is named after the landscape.
Franconia is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect.
Ansbach is a Landkreis (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds – but does not include – the town of Ansbach; nonetheless the administrative seat of the district is located in Ansbach. It is the district with the largest area in Bavaria.
Schwäbisch Hall is a Landkreis (district) in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Main-Tauber, the Bavarian district Ansbach, Ostalbkreis, Rems-Murr, and Hohenlohe.
Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies 32 kilometres east of Schwäbisch Hall and 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, a Catholic church, and the 67 metre tower of its town hall.
Öhringen is the largest town in Hohenlohe (district) in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railline to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim.
Casimirof Brandenburg-Bayreuth was Margrave of Bayreuth or Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach from 1515 to 1527.
Feuchtwangen is a city in Ansbach district in the administrative region of Middle Franconia in Bavaria, Germany with around 12.000 citizens and 137km² of landmass making it the biggest city in the Ansbach district by Population and Landmass. In the year 2019 Feuchtwangen celebrated its 1200th jubilee based on the first mention of its Benedictine monastery.
The Castle Road is a theme route in southern Germany and a small portion in the Czech Republic, between Mannheim and Prague.
Satteldorf is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
The Gäu Plateaus form the largest natural region in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Not surprisingly, the individual geographical units of this large region show considerable variations in climate and soil types. A common feature of the region, however, is its landscape of flat-topped hills of Muschelkalk, gently rolling tracts of loess and plateaus in which the layers of Muschelkalk have been covered by sediments of Gipskeuper and Lettenkeuper.
The South German Scarplands is a geological and geomorphological natural region or landscape in Switzerland and the south German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The landscape is characterised by escarpments.
Heilbronn-Franken is a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Stuttgart subdivision (Regierungsbezirk). It consists of the former Free imperial city of Heilbronn, Heilbronn district and the districts of Hohenlohe, Main-Tauber and Schwäbisch Hall.
The Swabian Keuper-Lias Plains is a major natural region in southwest Germany and includes the southwesternmost part of the Keuper Uplands, which is bordered immediately to the north by the Swabian Jura.
The Franconian Keuper-Lias Plains or Franconian Keuper-Lias Lands are a major natural region in the South German Scarplands in Upper Franconia and to a lesser extent in the north, in the Thuringian district of Hildburghausen. As the name indicates, the term embraces both the Keuper landscapes and lias landscapes in Franconia. In addition, the fore-land of the Franconian Jura, in which part of the Brown Jurassic occurs, as well as parts of the former volcanic region of Heldburger Gangschar belong to this region.
The Franconian Heights Nature Park is a nature park in Germany that covers an area of approximately 1,100 square kilometres. It is located northeast of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria and covers most of the hill ridge known as the Franconian Heights, as well as areas to the west and up to the Sulzach. The nature park is in one of the sunniest areas of southern Germany and offers a very varied landscape with mixed forests, rivers, vineyards and dry habitats.
The Swabian-Franconian Forest is a mainly forested, deeply incised upland region, 1,187 km² in area and up to 586.4 m above sea level (NHN), in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg. It forms natural region major unit number 108 within the Swabian Keuper-Lias Land. Its name is derived from the fact that, in medieval times, the border between the duchies of Franconia and Swabia ran through this forested region. In addition, the Swabian dialect in the south transitions to the East Franconian dialect in the north here.
The Keuper Uplands are part of the South German Scarplands and cover an area of about 3,200 square kilometres.
The Virngrund is a historical landscape in the counties of Ostalbkreis and Schwäbisch Hall in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. it is forested in many places and up to 580 m above sea level (NHN).
The Löwenstein Hills are a hill range up to 561 m above sea level (NHN), in the counties of Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg, Rems-Murr-Kreis and Hohenlohekreis in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. They are named after the town of Löwenstein.
The Waldenburg Hills are a forested hill range, up to 522.8 m above sea level (NHN), in the counties of Schwäbisch Hall and Hohenlohe in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg.